Abe Gets Some Personality on His Panels

In politics, change is often accompanied by new panels, committees and work teams. True to form, in an attempt to brush away the odor of the previous government and impress voters that his policies represent a breath of fresh air, new Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has created several councils to flesh out his signature policies.

Bloomberg News

Shinzo Abe, Japan’s prime minister, attends a New Year’s party for business leaders in Tokyo on Jan. 7.

Under the mantra that his economic platform stands on the three pillars of “dynamic” monetary policy, “agile” fiscal spending, and a growth strategy that will “spur private investment,” Mr. Abe chaired the first meeting of his new Japan Economic Revitalization Team on Tuesday. In doing so, he launched several sub-panels, including those on industrial competition, deregulation, and science and technology.

To counter criticism that his economic strategy is a return to the Liberal Democratic Party’s old ways of turning tax revenue into concrete, the industrial competition panel includes some high-profile proponents of corporate reform and small government.

Most noticeable is Keio University Professor Heizo Takenaka, Japan’s most prominent free-market advocate and a former cabinet minister and economic adviser to former prime minister Junichiro Koizumi. Chief government spokesman Yoshihide Suga said Prof. Takenaka’s appointment was in response to a “strong request” from Prime Minister Abe.

Another reform-minded business leader on the panel is Yasuchika Hasegawa, president of Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. and chairman of one of Japan’s largest business lobbies, Keizai Doyukai, or the Japan Association of Corporate Executives.

Credited with transforming the country’s biggest drug maker into a global powerhouse through aggressive cross-border acquisitions–including a $13.7 billion purchase of Swiss drug maker Nycomed in 2011–the outspoken Mr. Hasegawa stands out among Japanese corporate leaders for appointing foreigners and women to his company’s board.

Something of the oddity in this lineup is Sakie Akiyama, the 50-year-old female founder of Saki Corporation, a small but leading maker of industrial inspection robots. Ms. Akiyama spent the first half of her career in consulting before launching Saki Corporation in 1994. She now participates in a number of government and industrial committees on technology.

Perhaps, however, the biggest change from the past is the absence of representatives from leading manufacturers and electronics companies.

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